


Rekindle

by wayfxnder



Category: Dead by Daylight (Video Game)
Genre: Claudette Morel - Freeform, M/M, Meg Thomas - Freeform, Older survivors, escape!au, secret santa gift
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-10 16:46:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,491
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28290357
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wayfxnder/pseuds/wayfxnder
Summary: Years after their escape does Jake finally face the consequences of his actions.[ Secret santa gift ]
Relationships: Dwight Fairfield/Jake Park
Comments: 4
Kudos: 27





	Rekindle

**Author's Note:**

> A gift for the secret santa event that took place in The entity's playground. This is for my close friend Sabo who wanted some cute Dwight/Jake! Hope you enjoy!

He has to turn his head just to hear her. She shuts the glass door and becomes audible over the loud christmas music blaring in the distance. He's never liked parties. Too loud, too crowded. His father's parties were never like this, but he'd still take these over Mariah Carey’s ‘All I want for christmas is you’ booming from the speakers. Yeah. 

"You okay?" She says, joining him at the railing. He looks out at the big city from the fourth story. The bright lights. The busy streets. Jake feels alienated here. Out of place. It’s weird, he thinks. Ten years ago he had lived in a city just like this. He would attend parties and mingle with the crowd - as per his father’s request. His brother had always been more sociable, quicker to start conversations. It’s no wonder his father showed his favoritism. 

“Yeah. I’m good.” He says, looking down at the cup he's holding. 

His arms dangle over the railing. It feels weird to wear an expensive watch and a suit. It’s not him. He’s not even sure what convinced him to put it on. Not like Kate had put up a dress code. But at least he wasn’t the only one that made a mistake in the garderobe. The red-head next to him looked just as out of place wearing that dress. 

"Oh come on. You don't have to fuckin' lie to me, Park." Meg says, resting her own arms on the railing. She looks out over the city like him. Meg belongs here, belongs to the big city. Her name has been shining lately with all those medals under her name. She’s moved on since the entity’s realm, he’s still stuck in the past. 

"Just not my kind of thing." He admits, raising his drink to his lips and downing the remainder. Alcohol buzzes his head. 

"Tell me about it." 

"I thought you liked this type of party?" He raises an eyebrow. 

"Me? You must have the wrong gal. This is more a Nea kinda thing. Girl can dance - for a white girl." 

Jake snorts, turning his attention back to the bright lights in the dark. To New York and it's buzzing streets. It should feel familiar, but it doesn’t. 

"It's good to see you though." 

"It's good to see you too." 

"How's the Olympic thing coming along?" 

"Good. Los Angeles, next year. I'm really excited." 

"Your mom would be proud of you.” 

“I know.” 

They watch the skyscrapers for a little and drown out the music behind them. Jake asks her an occasional question about how life is going. Meg returns the questions with questions and before long he's telling her all about his life at the edge of the woods. How he feels both better than ever and the worst of the worse. They've been out of the realm for a long while now. He should feel used to being on his own again, but he doesn't. It's weird waking up with nobody there. The sound of the campfire both calms him and stresses him out. 

Living in the woods just hasn't been quite the same since the entity's realm. Not without the others.

"Not to butt in but It sounds to me like you're lonely." Meg says, taking a sip from her drink. 

"What makes you say that?" 

"Come on Jakie…" Meg shakes her head with a sigh. She takes a step closer to him and playfully rubs their shoulders together. "You're smart enough to realise that the difference between now and then was the company we keep. Back then we were all together. Now? You're all on your own again. It's no wonder you feel anxious all the time." 

It's true. He hasn't felt entirely comfortable since then. Call it a side-effect of spending eight years in the entity's realm with a bunch of idiots. Constant company. Barely any privacy. Having to share  _ everything _

"You know there's somebody out there who misses you." She’s right.

"You know I can't- It wouldn't be fa-" 

"Oh hush. Stop telling yourself that. Just talk to him, okay? He's a grown-man. Not a baby. You know that."

He fiddles with the cup nervously. Of course he knows that. Things were messy. It all happened at once. He wasn’t ready. Dwight wasn’t ready. It was way too overwhelming for the both of them. Dwight wouldn’t blame him from isolating himself - he wouldn’t. But that didn’t make him any less anxious. 

“He’s here you know. I saw him talking with Claudette.” She turns to look at him, studies his features. “Least you can do is talk to him. Let him know you haven’t disappeared from the face of the earth.” 

Jake frowns at her. “Too far.” 

“Okay. Okay.” She waves a hand. “Anyway. My point stands. Go talk to him. I know he’ll be happy to see you.”

He looks down at his cup again. It’s empty anyway. He could always make up an excuse that he was just getting a drink. Yeah. That could work. He could pretend he didn’t know he was coming. Yeah. Yeah. That would work. 

He stands up straight and makes his way to the glass door that leads to the apartment. It’s a luxurious apartment, nothing too big but certainly bigger than what Kate and her wife need. Then again, she had all the money in the world to spend after her second album skyrocketed. 

“By the way.” Meg calls out to him. “You look weird shaved.” 

He sticks out his tongue and steps inside. Instantly he’s overwhelmed by the bright christmas lights. Thankfully it seems Mariah Carey has shut her mouth for a little while. He spots Nea dancing with Yui in the middle of the room. The tables have been moved to the sides to make room. Even with all the room they seem to be quite close to each other. He scans the rest of the room. Kate is handing out drinks, Zarina is by her side and Jane seems to be on the other side of the extensive kitchen island. 

Claudette is there too, sitting quietly at the end of it and sipping her drink.  _ I thought you were with Dwight?  _

“Hey Claudette,” He starts, walking over to her “What’s going on?” 

He places his empty cup on the kitchen island and Kate refills it for him with a wink. 

“Please tell me you have a better opener than that.” She smiles at him, patting the stool next to her. He shakes his head. He would love to have a full conversation with her and catch-up, but he’s got other things to do. He can hear all about her continued success in botany and blogging later. 

“I’m actually looking for Dwight, believe it or not.” She wiggles her eyebrows and her smile grows wider - like the sun. She’s radiating warmth and kindness. Jake is convinced she’s an angel. The sweetest girl alive. Heck, probably came straight from heaven. If that exists. “Meg said you were talking to him?” 

“Oh yeah. He went to get a smoke out front.” It’s Jake’s turn to be surprised. “He smokes?” 

“Apparently. Work’s been hard on him lately.” 

“Right….” He rubs the back of his neck. “I’m going to go join him.”

“Oh Jake. By the way.” He turns to look at her again. “You look weird shaved.” 

He rolls his eyes and ventures off with his drink still in hand. He spots some other people around. Ash is sitting in the corner with Ace. They’re drinking. Nancy and Steve are talking. There’s a woman and a man he doesn’t recognise - friends of Nancy and Steve’s he thinks. 

He opens the front door and steps out. Nobody in the hallway. He makes it to the front, to the terrace on the roof and finds Dwight sitting on the couch by the firepit. He understands why Kate chose to live here now. It’s pretty. The lights of the city sparkle like stars and the view is incredible. Despite all that his attention is on Dwight. How he looks out of place. How his tie doesn’t hang loosely from his neck anymore but is neatly tucked under his suit jacket. How his eyes look more tired than ever and how one of his hands holds nicotine, dangling above an ashtray. 

He looks worse, much worse, than he ever has. Guilt seeps into his body like it’s flowing straight out of his veins.  _ I could’ve done something. I should’ve done something.  _

But there’s also something comforting about him. He takes a simple step onto the terrace and Dwight meets his gaze. Downstruck-look replaced with hopeful sparks in his eyes. His frown was replaced with a soft smile. It’s that sense of leadership that still lurks in him. Which forces his own pain way for the sake of others. It’s admirable. It’s heartwarming and it makes Jake chuckle. 

“Hey.” Dwight starts, pushing up his glasses awkwardly. 

“Hey.” He responds, taking another step onto the terrace. 

“You mind if I….?” He gestures at the couch across from him. Dwight doesn’t respond, simply gestures for him to sit. He does, placing his cup of alcohol on the small table next to the fireplace. And despite their weird relationship and the hurt he caused, the air doesn’t feel awkward. Jake doesn’t feel nervous. In fact, he feels comfortable as he rests one of his legs on the other. 

“You look weird shaved.” 

“You’re the third person to tell me that.” 

“For good reason.” Dwight chuckles, dimming the cigarette in the ashtray before him. 

“Didn’t know you smoked.”

“I don't, I borrowed Kate’s.” 

“Didn’t know she smoked.” Dwight shrugs. 

“Only during parties she said. But Zarina Gave me a weird look. Don’t think she’s been doing so hot.”

“Can’t blame her.” 

Jake looks at Dwight. Sees as his expression slips a little. It doesn’t take a genius in perception to figure out something’s wrong. If his appearance alone was one thing to go by, the way his eyes look down at the floor and how his smile falls a little are two others. 

“What about you?” Dwight starts. “How have you been doing?” 

Jake feels his stomach drop. Sure, he’s been having a rough time but  _ anyone _ can tell Dwight is the one worse off between the two of them. He’s practically radiating misery right now. 

“Hanging in there. We all are.” He rubs his hands together. Dwight looks at him. He looks at Dwight. He remembers just how much he cares. Just how much love he holds for the man sitting across from him. It’s silly, he thinks. It’s been years since the entity’s realm. It’s been years since they escaped and gone their separate ways. He had pushed him away. It had been his fault. 

And yet… 

_ Please tell me you’re still single. Please tell me you haven’t forgotten about me.  _

It’s selfish of him to want that, he knows that. 

“I’m….sorry,” He starts, lip quivering. “What I did to you….not telling you where I was. Isolating myself. Ghosting you…” 

He looks down at his hands. They’re shaking. His heart is beating in his throat as if they’re back in the entity’s realm. As if they’re about to turn the corner and spot Evan Macmillan ready to tear up their backs and place them on a hook. He panics. His hands start shaking more. His vision blurs. 

“It’s okay,” Dwight says, suddenly right next to him. A hand is placed on his arm. It calms him, relaxes him. The shaking slows. His vision clears. “I understand.” 

He breathes. 

“Truth is, I kind of isolated myself too. For a while at least.” He raises his head, looking at him. Dwight’s looking back at him. The hope’s returned to his eyes.  _ A leader. Able to bring the most out of others.  _

“I didn’t know what to do. Kate was kind of insistent about her whole ‘adjust to society plan’. It was overwhelming. I didn’t know what to do. So I just took some of her money, rented a hotel room and found a job nearby. Lived like that for a while” Dwight laughs. “Now? Now I’m on my way to becoming CEO but….” He scratches the back of his head

“But…?” 

“I feel more lonely than ever.” He confesses. “I do well with my coworkers, of course, that has always been my priority but….it’s not the same. So when Kate said she was hosting a christmas party I knew I had to go. Like I’d owe it to myself to go. Kinda weird, right?” 

Jake chuckles, raising a hand to scratch his chin. No stubble. Feels weird. Dwight laughs. 

“Not at all actually,” Jake says, “I wanted it too. To see everybody again, I mean”  _ Especially you. Why can’t you say that? Why can’t you just say that? _

“Especially you..”  __ Jake said it. He can’t believe he actually said it. 

Dwight’s flustered. The color of his cheeks match up with his ridiculous red reindeer tie. It looks silly - both his face and the tie. 

“Truth is, I never really got over you. I just felt it was unfair of me to come crawling back to you after what I did.” Jake thought he’d be surprised, but he isn’t. In fact he feels Dwight’s hand move along the sleeve of his suit, up to his shoulder. He squeezes it softly and leans closer. 

“I guess I never really got over you either.” 

It’s quiet after that. Dwight is close enough to lean against him, but doesn’t. Jake wants to have a sip of his drink but doesn’t want to move. It’s getting darker - colder. They’re both cold, even by the fireplace. It gets awkward. Jake clears his throat and Dwight sits up straight with an awkward laugh. 

“My mother. She’s hosting a christmas party in a couple days. In the next state over. I just….I guess you could say I’ve been kind of...nervous about the whole thing. My brother will be there too. Dad’s out of town...” 

He reaches for his drink, awkwardly running his thumbs over the rim of the plastic. 

“I was thinking. Since you always know how to help me relax.” He swallows hard. “That you could come along? I can pay for your ticket and everything, but I understand if you can’t. I mean you already made plans for christmas and everything and mayb-” 

Dwight bumps shoulders with him. 

“That would be great.” 

Jake feels the warmth spread to his cheeks and the smile tug at his lips. 

“But what would you introduce me as?” 

He bites his lip. 

“You think ‘boyfriend’ would work?” Dwight chuckles, moving closer to close the distance again. This time there’s no hesitance. There’s no concern. He rests his head against Jake’s shoulder and comfortably settles against him by the fire. It’s warm. It’s cozy. It feels like home. 

It feels like freedom. 

“Yeah. I think that could work.” 

**Author's Note:**

> Twitter: dancvwithme


End file.
